Parents, do you actually care about report cards?

[PollyannaMom]

I definitely go over them! And so does DS (Grandpa pays him for those "exceeds expectations"). But I do feel bad for the classroom teachers because their are so many different categories they have to grade for each child. Report card day is always one of those times I'm glad I'm a sub.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Since they are online, we don't share like we used to. I need to remember to print one off before the end of the yr. I follow her grades online so I know how she is doing already.

For the most part, teachers don't put in comments anymore.

 

[PatsGirl]

Yes, report cards are very important to us in my house. Not the grades so much but the comments, both good and bad I am lucky that DD attends a charter school and yes, they do grade A-F but each teacher writes a pretty lengthy discussion of how DD is doing, including where she excels and where she needs to put more effort. They really strive for excellence in both teaching and learning

 

[ctinct]

Report cards are very important here, too. They stay on the refrigerator until the next one comes come. We know what's coming, though, because we can access grades online. I think my daughter checks daily. While we do read and appreciate the comments, in high school it is a little different because they are all computerized. I know hs teachers have far too many students to write individual notes, but I really miss the elem. days when we got handwritten comments that were individual. Now we sometimes get the exact same comment from four teachers.

But, yes, I save all my kid's report cards, and my mom saved mine for me.

 

[hanutedmansionmomma]

I think report cards need to be honest. I'm a sped teacher. We look at grade cards when kids are going thru the evaluation process and so many comments are "see you at conferences" not helpful so much!

I did like to read elementary comments for my own kids. It's nice to know a teacher "knows" your kid. I hate "pleasure in class" or "enjoyed having ____ in my class" it's not about what teachers enjoy! That doesn't tell me anything about my kid except they weren't a pain.

thanks for spending time on the comments!! I spend a lot of time too

 

[hentob]

When it came to my social comments, I had to "soften" them because apparently saying a grade one student has a tendency to socialize during work time was too harsh.....

Not good Be honest. If the comments are there, use them. It helps the student, the parent and next year's teacher.

And yes, of course, I care about report cards

 

[eeyoremum]

To be honest NO. I read them then decide for myself what my children really know or don't know.

In Ontario our report card are computer generated. So it is a keystroke and the comment is added.

I have had report cards with an "A" and the comment, need improvement. I have seen a report card with a "C" and the comment has a complete understanding of the concepts. I have even had report cards that have said "little Daniel needs to listen in class" still wondering who Daniel is because I don't have a boy named Daniel.

 

[Ponygirl]

We always looked forward to receiving report cards and I appreciate brutal honesty from teachers. Good grades are rewarded and anything mediocre meant my child was slacking and we weren't doing our job. We also held to the rule that if you got in trouble at school, you were in more trouble at home.


We, too, always displayed report cards on the fridge. We live in a small town and honor rolls are published in the local newspaper so our everyone in town knew who was doing well. There was no hiding!

 

[luvmy3]

Yes we care about the grades and conduct. I don't want the teachers to soften the comments either, I want to know what is going on in class with my child and those comments help me address any issues.
ETA, IMO in some classes, like art, PE and music, conduct is more important than the grade itself.

 

[Mermaid02]

The teacher comments are more important to me than the grades are....

 

[Pikester]

We always looked forward to receiving report cards and I appreciate brutal honesty from teachers. Good grades are rewarded and anything mediocre meant my child was slacking and we weren't doing our job. We also held to the rule that if you got in trouble at school, you were in more trouble at home.


We, too, always displayed report cards on the fridge. We live in a small town and honor rolls are published in the local newspaper so our everyone in town knew who was doing well. There was no hiding!

I live in a small town and the Honor Roll is posted in the paper here too. DS12 has made High Honors for the past 2 years and just this year recieved his first B that will drop him down to Honor Roll. Boy was he upset! It was in PE of all things.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

I think they are important to let us know how are kids are doing. We have conferences with the teachers, we see the work coming home, but we need to know if they are where they need to be. Meaning, let's say our child is getting exceptional grades across the board. Maybe we need to think of a new way to challenge them because maybe the coursework is too easy. If the child is not doing as well somewhere we can work on it. If we think our child is doing great but the report card says otherwise we can schedule a conference and find out what is going on.
I personally think they are a guideline. Not really a measure of their intelligence etc. I also do not believe you should only write nice things. I want my children's teachers to be honest. I cannot help my children if the teacher cannot write what I really need to know.

 

[EthansMom]

Yes, we do read the kids' report cards and pay attention to what they say. The grading ("Exceeds Expectations", "Meets Expectations", etc..) is a pain in the behind to figure out sometimes.

Of far more value to us is the comments section. Our teachers obviously spend a lot of time on their comments and the comments section can be quite lengthy (even for my kids who are pretty good students). I appreciate knowing my childrens' strengths and weaknesses.

And, yes, DS has come home with "talks too much in class" on his report card. What can I say, he's his mother's child...

 

[Mermaid02]

I live in a small town and the Honor Roll is posted in the paper here too. DS12 has made High Honors for the past 2 years and just this year recieved his first B that will drop him down to Honor Roll. Boy was he upset! It was in PE of all things.

PE should be pass/fail...... along with music and art. Some are gifted in these areas and the others aren't.

 

[merryweather20]

When I was in school the teachers had canned comments, but we had one handwritten report card for an iterim period in grade 9. My drama teacher wrote "Looks shy but isn't".

I'm honestly not sure how he came up with that one, but me and my parents still laugh about it

 

[princess momma]

My kids are little and I'll be honest, I don't care about their report cards very much. We had parent teacher conferences last week and I could tell the teachers put tons of effort into evaluating the kids.

I really appreciate all the hard work, but to me getting some one on one time with the teacher is more important than seeing check marks and plus signs on a piece of paper. I like to hear from the teacher how they're doing. And I like to see how they interact with my child.

I'm sure I'll care about report cards more when my kids are older.

 

[K and K's Mommy]

Former teacher here - Yes, we read and discuss report cards. Also, please be completely honest. It's the only way I can help my kids.

I have a fifth grader and a second grader in school. Through the years, I have learned that their teachers do not spend as much time as I did on report cards. I spent hours on mine including lengthy, personal comments. I always had a goal for each child no matter how great a student they were. Most of my kids' teachers have used generic comments. It drives me nuts!!

 

[KristaTX]

I don't have kids, but I loved getting my report card when I was a kid. It felt like payday for weeks of hard work. Grades to me were a wonderful external motivator, similar to how money is now. Even to this day I'd still like to hear things like, "You are a good worker because. . .". But at my current job I don't really get any sort of personal annual review.

Anyway, that's a probable thought from the other person involved in your report cards besides you and the parents: your students. It probably does serve as an external motivator for the kids who make great grades, and also for the ones whose parents take report cards and grades seriously.

But there seem to be some kids who just don't care. I can't comprehend that .

 

[The Mystery Machine]

PE should be pass/fail...... along with music and art. Some are gifted in these areas and the others aren't.

I agree. PE is the thing that hurts my dd's GPA as well. She hates it along with not being coordinated in it.

She is in 7th grade now and the other day she says...I only have 2 & 1/2 yrs left of PE in my life. Yes, she is counting it down. They only need 1yr of PE in HS.

 

[Becky2005]

PE should be pass/fail...... along with music and art. Some are gifted in these areas and the others aren't.

Depends on how they do the class. I know PE is required here for every single year of school. Starting in 6th grade, you are graded on if you are dressed every day, etc... However, they also have homework, tests on rules of the games they are learning. Therefore, the grades are not based solely on physical ability. I know in High School they even have final exams, which are written exams. Therefore, you really do earn a grade, not just pass/fail.

Music & Art are not required in MS exactly but I know in choir, they have to learn to read music. It's the only way they can have the class be a real class & not extra-curricular. The music classes basically have to do something educational. Choir/Band/Orchestra is optional though. Art is only required for 1 semester and if you try you are going to get a good grade. They don't count Electives in the Honor Roll in MS though. PE isn't an elective, so it counts. It even counts in your GPA for our HS.